Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Episode 28 40 Wasted Days and Wasted Nights

In this slightly shorter than usual episode, I read from chapter 19 The Temptation, and Fast Of Forty Days from TW Doane's work Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions.  I also announce the winner of the cover art for the contest I'm planning on launching later on this month.  Its Steve at Hudson Media from Columbus, OH.  You can see his entry below.


I blather on a bit in the podcast about how Doane admits that there's a significance to the number 40, which is common in a considerable number of religions, but gives no explanation as to why that might be.  I think that I might have figured it out.  Forty is double the number of fingers and toes a human being has, so in societies where numeracy is limited, this would seem to be a very large number, and would be something common in all societies.  The speculation about Venus that I talk about in the podcast is likely to have come later, once societies had become literate, I think.  I'll blather more about it in the next episode.

I'd also like to give a big shout out to Tom and Cecil over at the Cognitive Dissonance Podcast for playing my voicemail.  They rock, and for anyone who found me thanks to them, I want to thank you for listening, and apologize in advance for not being the least bit funny.